1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a connector with a lever for connecting mating male-female units with a single action simply and, more particularly, to a connector well suited for an automotive wire harness connection.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A variety of lever type connectors, with levers for reducing the force required for a male-female connection between mating connector units, are commonly used today. One such connector is shown in FIG. 8.
This connector includes a mating plug unit 2 for accommodating a plurality of first electrical wires with first terminals (not shown) therein and a receptacle unit 1 for accommodating a plurality of second electrical wires with second terminals (not shown) therein. The first and second electrical wires are electrically connected by engaging the first and second terminals thereof when the plug unit 2 is inserted into the receptacle unit 1.
The receptacle unit 1 is provided with an receptacle space 1a formed on one side surface, exposing the accommodated first terminals therein. The receptacle unit 1 further has lever 3 installed on the side surface of the receptacle opening 1a in a freely pivoting manner, as shown in FIG. 8. The lever 3 has an guide holes 3a in a curved line. The lever 3 further has a guide hole leader 3b engraved on the inner side thereof, facing the first connector 1, between the guide hole 3a and one side edge of the lever 3.
When the plug unit 2 and receptacle unit 1 are engaged with each other, the plug portion 2a is inserted into the receptacle opening 1a as the guide pins 4 are guided into the guide holes 3a by the guide hole leaders 3b. Then, the lever 3 is rotated in the direction of the arrow A, the guide pins 4 are pulled in the direction B by the guide holes 3. Thus, the plug unit 2 is forced to further insert into the receptacle opening 1a, and the first and second terminals accommodated in two units 1 and 2 are connected. The manual force required to connect the units 1 and 2 at this time is less than that required to connect them directly by hand because the basic lever and fulcrum principle applied with the lever 3 reduces the required force.
When connecting this conventional lever type connector, however, the receptacle unit 1 and plug unit 2 must be held by hand and positioned so that the guide pins 4 are located in the guide hole leaders 3b at the end of the guide hole 3a in the initial position shown in FIG. 8, after which time the lever 3 is operated.
In other words, connecting the conventional lever type connector requires an awkward two step operation: positioning the receptacle unit 1 and plug unit 2 in the initial position, and then operating the lever 3 to complete the connection. In addition, the need to hold both two units 1 and 2 by hand increases the difficulty of this operation.